Medical rehab guru Shepard dead at 81
Mink aide Helfrich dies
Star-Bulletin staffPatricia King Helfrich, 79, of Hilo, a retired Washington Post journalist, a Naval officer and cryptographer during World War II, and a member of the Office of Strategic Services intelligence agency, died Monday at her home.
In post-World War II Burma, Helfrich and her late husband Baird were confidants of Gen. Aung San (father of dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi), Burmese leader U Nu, United Nations leader U Thant, and India's Jawaharlal Nehru.
In Hawaii since 1975, Helfrich was active with U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink and the Democratic Party.
She is survived by sister, Elizabeth Braucher, daughters Paula and Eleanor Helfrich, Mary Uyeda, Elizabeth Barton, Christina Gouw and Catherine Punch, and sons Stuart and Thomas Helfrich.
John P. "Jack" Albetski Jr., 60, of Makawao, Maui, a chief senior scientist with Trex Enterprise, died Monday in Maui Memorial Hospital. He was also a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. He was born in Worcester, Mass. He is survived by companion Debbie Shimabukuro, son Gerrit, daughters Corrie and Erica, former wife Kathryn Toms, sister Judith Allen, nephew and hanai son Mark Allen and caregivers Ralph and Ben. Celebration of life: 10:45 a.m. Saturday at Ballard Family Mortuary. Call after 9 a.m. Burial: Maui Veterans Cemetery. Reception: Ballard Family Mortuary. Aloha attire.
Jane M.S. Amorin, 80, of Kahului died Sunday in Straub Hospital. She was born in Kahului. She is survived by husband Louis S.; son Howard "Macky"; daughters Barbara Warlick, Patricia Medeiros, Dorothy Kiesel and Mary Ellen Quiray; 15 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. Mass: 11 a.m. tomorrow at Christ the King Church. Call after 9 a.m. Burial: Kahaupali Sunnyside Cemetery. Aloha attire.
David H. Anderson, 77, of Kailua, a retired fireman with the federal government, died Friday in Straub Hospital. He was born in Honolulu. He is survived by sons Kenneth and David K., daughter Kathy Bance, sisters Martha and Eleanor, and five grandchildren. Services: 12:30 p.m. Monday at St. Anthony Church in Kailua. Call after 11:30 a.m. Burial: National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl. Casual attire.
Miriam F. Baker, 87, of Oceanview, Hawaii, a retired certified public accountant, died Sunday in Hilo Hospital. She was born in Colorado. She is survived by son Hue and personal representative and caregiver Joseph Gill. Private services.
Tomix B. Balisacan, 68, of Hanamaulu, Kauai, a groundskeeper for Kauai Lagoons, died Tuesday at home. He was born in the Philippines. He is survived by wife Maria B.; daughters Lolita Taroma and Martina Gano; sons Virgilio and Salvador; brothers and sisters Francisco, Salome and Mauricio Balisacan, Florida Ganotisi, Felicidad Calabucal and Fortunata Dumayas; and eight grandchildren. Call from 6 to 9 p.m. tomorrow at Borthwick/Kauai Mortuary. Services: 10 a.m. Saturday at Holy Cross Church in Kalaheo. Call from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. Burial: Lihue Public Cemetery. Casual or aloha attire.
Stephen W.C. Chow, 47, of Honolulu, an inspector for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, died Dec. 29 in Queen's Hospital. He was born in Honolulu. He is survived by wife Christine, son Jason, daughter Deborah, parents Donald and Ethel, and brothers Melvin and Dickson. Services: 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at Diamond Head Mortuary. Call after 9 a.m. Burial: Diamond Head Memorial Park. Casual attire.
Clarice M. Corboy, 89, of Honolulu and Denver, died Dec. 11. Born in Dunedin, New Zealand, she is survived by sons Dr. John and Robert, daughter Sally Kurtzman, sister Florence Robertson, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Services: 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at Sacred Heart Church on Wilder Avenue. Inurnment: National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl. Donations suggested to St. Francis Ladies Auxiliary or St. Francis Hospice.
Asuncion M. Cunanan, 77, of Ewa Beach died Friday in St. Francis Hospital. She was born in Batangas, the Philippines. She is survived by sons Angelito, Florencio, Florante, Efren, Ronaldo, Oscar and Nestor; daughters Milagros Gonzales, Teresita Reglos and Araceli Castro; brother Lamberto Monastrial; 38 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren. Services: 7 p.m. Monday at Immaculate Conception Church, 91-1298 Renton Road. Call after 6 p.m. Burial: Bataan, the Philippines. Casual attire. No flowers.
Bernard S. Dias, 70, of Waipahu, who retired from Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, died Dec. 26 at home. He was born in Honolulu. He is survived by wife Beatrice, son Rodney, daughters Diane Story, Carolyn Leyson and Beverly Dias, sister Veronica Donnell, and four grandchildren. Private services.
Sherman N. "Sherry" Dowsett, 79, of Holualoa, Hawaii, a World War II bomber pilot in the U.S. Army Air Force, died Dec. 23 at home. He was also a retired president of Pantheon Co. He was born in Honolulu. He is survived by sons Sherman Jr., Keawe and Wade; and daughters Melvia Colletto, Barbie Bailey and Tiana DeShong. Services at a later date.
Beatrice M. Ferreira, 88, of Honolulu died Dec. 28 in Nuuanu Hale. She was born in Honolulu. She is survived by sons Glenwood and George II, daughter Lorraine Ferreira, sisters Jennie McWhorter and Viola Henderson, 11 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren. Private services.
Tsang C.Y. Goo, 89, of Honolulu, a retired seamstress and schoolteacher in China, died Monday at home. She is survived by sons Gee Sing and Gee-In; daughters GeeHou Goo, Gee Chew Yee, Gee-Ming Ho and Gee-Jun Kwan; 16 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Buddhist services: 9:30 a.m. Monday at Borthwick Mortuary. Call from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Burial: Hawaiian Memorial Park.
Ritsuko Hirata, 74, of Lahaina died Monday at home. She was born in Puukolii, Maui. She is survived by sons Wayne and Neil; daughter Patricia Tamashiro; brothers Tsutomu, Hideo, Isamu and Yukio Kawabata; sister Sueko; five grandchildren; and a great-grandchild. Services: 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Lahaina Hongwanji Mission. Graveside services: 10 a.m. Monday at Maui Memorial Park. Casual attire.
Benjamin P. "Ben" Kahanaoi, 78, of Hilo, a truck driver for various firms, died Monday in Hale Anuenue Restorative Care Center. He was also a U.S. Army veteran. He was born in Kahalui, Maui. He is survived by sisters Annie Andaya, Winnie Chartrand and Pearl Barrett, and brothers Phillip, Joseph, David and Peter Kahanaoi and Gilbert Pine. Services: noon tomorrow at the Church of God in Hilo. Call after 11 a.m. Burial: Hawaii Veterans Cemetery No. 2. Casual attire.
Bob H. Kaichi, 78, of Honolulu, a retired manager for Standard Oil Co. of California, died Sunday in Straub Hospital. He was also a retired major for the U.S. Army. He was born in Honolulu. He is survived by wife Alice, son Miles, daughter Gail Hart, brothers Takeshi, Richard, Howell and Edison, and a grandson. Services: 8 p.m. Tuesday at Hosoi Garden Mortuary. Call after 7 p.m. Cremation to follow. Casual attire.
George Kakazu, 76, of Kaneohe, died last Thursday in Castle Hospital. He was born in Koolaupoko, Kailua. He is survived by wife Kiyoko; sons Noboru, Thomas H., John, Robert and Mike; daughter June D.; brothers Samuel Y. and Masami; sisters Florence Uehara, Jean K. Takasato, Yoshiko Rabe, Haruko Chun, Louise S. Kawagoe and Jane Kakazu; and 16 grandchildren. Services: 6:30 p.m. Monday at Nuuanu Mortuary.
Herbert Kalani, 71, of Aiea, a retired cook for Pan American Airways, died Friday in St. Francis-West Hospice. He was born in Kealakekua-Kona, Hawaii. He is survived by wife Jean, sons Keith and Welton, daughter Lianne Higashida, and sister Doris Chow. Services: 6 p.m. Monday at Hosoi Garden Mortuary. Call after 5 p.m. Casual attire. No flowers.
Misa Karakita, infant daughter of Yasushi and Yuka, died last Thursday in Kapiolani Hospital for Women and Children. She is also survived by sisters Miho and Lisa, and grandparents Hiroshi and Tomoe Karakita and Tsuguo and Hiroko Ito. Private services.
Tom A. Kendig, 85, of Honolulu, a retired radiologist, died Dec. 17 in Queen's Hospital. He was born in Pasadena, Calif. He is survived by wife Sally, son Tom Jr., daughter Jennifer Kraus, and sister Barbara Knoderer. Private services.
Kathryn E. Kyle, 86, of Boulder, Colo., formerly of Honolulu, a teacher and an administrative assistant at the East-West Center, died Monday. She was born near Upper Sandusky, Ohio. She is survived by daughters Ellen Ferguson Schenk, Mary Ann Bursiek and Nancy E. Black; sister Mary Jane Powell; brother Richard Gaver; and five grandchildren. Services on the mainland. Donations suggested to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, 2465 S. Dowining St., Denver, CO 80210 or the Boulder County AIDS Project.
Dorothy Myong Ok Lee, 68, of Honolulu, a retired clothing store saleswoman, died last Thursday in Honolulu. She was born in Hwang Hae Do, Korea. She is survived by son Johnny Hair, two grandchildren, and former spouse Robert T. Vieira. Services: 10 a.m. Monday at Nuuanu Memorial Park Mortuary. Call after 9 a.m. Burial: Hawaiian Memorial Park.
Dale B. Mathews, 65, of Aiea, who retired from State Farm Insurance Co., died Dec. 30 in Kapiolani Hospital at Pali Momi. He was born in Rockford, Ill. He is survived by fiancee Leanne Tanida, son Todd, daughter Tracy Randall, mother Melvina, brother Gary, and four grandchildren. Memorial services: 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Mililani Mortuary-Waipio, makai chapel. Call after 9:30 a.m. Aloha attire.
Gary T. Matsumoto, 53, of Honolulu, a food and beverage manager, died last Thursday in Queen's Hospice. He was born in Honolulu. He is survived by daughter Lee-Ann; brothers Albert, Harry, Walter and Michell; and sisters Mildred Harad and Ethel Kakimoto. Memorial services: 2:30 p.m. Saturday at First Assembly of God. Call after 1:30 p.m. Casual attire. No flowers.
David E. "Mac" McDonald, 79, formerly of Honolulu, a retired aircraft mechanic for Hickam Air Force Base, died Dec. 21 in Silsbee, Texas. He was born in Batavia, Ill. He is survived by wife Roxie Iona; daughters Sally Kam, Nell Perreira and Priscilla Blackwell; stepchildren Debra, Martin, Pamela and Donald McCleary and Diane and David Wacasey; sister Dorothy Salis; 16 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Private services.
Alexander H. Millikin, 82, of Medford, Ore., formerly of Maui, head of the engineering department of HC&S Sugar Co., died Friday at home. He was born in Oakland, Calif. He is survived by daughters Raona Millikin Roy and Gail Millikin Butchart, son L.J., and four grandsons. Private services.
Mitsu Mizubayashi, 90, of Kahului, died Dec. 22 in Kahului Hale Makua. She was born in Kuiaha, Maui. She is survived by sons Hiroto "Jimmy," Akito and Masato "Danny"; daughters Sadako Yoshioka and Wakako "Shirley" Takahashi; brothers Roy, Kenji and Tadashi Nakamoto;, 10 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren. Private services.
Shizuko A. Mori, 91, of Valparaiso, Ind., a bookkeeper with a laundry service in Honolulu, died yesterday. She was born in Aiea. She is survived by three grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren. No services. Memorials suggested to a charity.
Kikue "Helen" Nakamori, 89, of Aiea, formerly of Haleiwa, died Dec. 14 at home. She was born in Haleiwa. She is survived by son Glenn Y., two grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Private services.
Charles E. Oyama, 64, of Honolulu, a plumbing estimator for Hawaii Pacific Plumbing, will be remembered in services 10 a.m. Sunday at Hosoi Garden Mortuary. Casual attire. He died in Hilo Hospital after apparently drowning off Puhi Bay Dec. 19. He is survived by wife Helen S., son Michael Y. Moromisato, daughter Michelle Kaneshiro, brothers George and Daniel, sister Gladys Nagamine, and a grandchild.
Viola D.V. Pagat, 86, of Kapaau, Hawaii died Monday in Keauhou Rehabilitation Center. She was born in Honolulu. She is survived by sons David Kaleikau Jr. and Marcel Jr. and Gilbert Pagat; daughter Sybil Pruett; sister Rachel Voeller; 19 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren. Services: 11 a.m. Saturday at Memorial Mortuary. Call from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Private inurnment. Casual/aloha attire. No flowers.
Ruth Y.N. Park, 80, of Honolulu, died yesterday in Wahiawa General Hospital. She was born in Honolulu. She is survived by son Ethan; daughters Lucia Wong, Lucille Donohue and Pamela Harada; sister Florence Moikeha; 12 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren. Services: 12:30 p.m. Tuesday at Borthwick Mortuary. Call from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Burial: Hawaiian Memorial Park. Casual attire.
Kiyo Sakai, 100, of Honolulu, died Thursday in Leahi Hospital. She was born in Toyama, Japan. She is survived by sons Kazuo, Sakuji and Edward M.; daughters Ayako Yanagihara and Dorothy Y. Nishida; 10 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. Memorial services: noon Sunday at Hosoi Garden Mortuary. Casual attire. No flowers.
Harue Sato, 93, of Honolulu, died Dec. 25 in Kuakini Hospital. She was born in Fukushima, Japan. She is survived by sons Stanley, James and Robert; brother Hachiro Haga; sisters Yoshie Goto and Tamako Matoi; three grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Private services.
Kiyoshi Shigeoka, 80, of Hilo, a retired proprietor of Thermo-Lux Corp., died Friday in Hilo Hospital. He was born in Hilo. He is survived by wife Matsuko; daughter Joyce Higa; sisters Tsuruko Koide, Kiyoko Takashima and Yaeko Aburamen; and two grandchildren. Private services.
Libby M. "Cody" Silva, 72, of Kaneohe died Dec. 29 in Kailua. She was born in Honolulu. She is survived by children Rod W. and Steve B. Silva and Wendy P. Sanchez; sisters Dorothy Kaleikini, Ruby Yim, Louise Coelho, Betty Matsu, Amy Jardine and Mary Sakamoto; eight grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. Services: 7:30 tonight at Hawaiian Memorial Park Mortuary. Call from 6 to 9 p.m. Graveside services: 9 a.m. tomorrow at the park. Casual attire.
Sueki "Snake" Suehiro, 72, of Hilo, a retired tractor mower operator for the state, died Dec. 29 in Hale Anuenue Restorative Care Center. He was born in Hilo. He is survived by son Lester; daughters Karen Valledor and Gail Harrison; brother Stanley; sisters Hatsuko Yamashita, Mitize Hashizaki and Jean Suehiro; and four grandchildren. Private services.
Norman A. Tam, 56, of Pearl City, a fair housing officer for the city, will be remembered in memorial services 2 p.m. Sunday at First Chinese Church of Christ. Call after 1:30 p.m. Private inurnment. Aloha attire. No flowers. He is survived by fiancee Loraine Daikoku, son Mitchell, daughters Gerri Wood, Terrilyn Pacheco and Danielle Tam; mother Helen; brothers Edwin and Alan; sisters Marjorie Opulauoho and Debra Tam; and four grandchildren.
Emil Topolinski, 80, of Ewa Beach, who retired from the Naval Ammunition Depot Lualualei, died Dec. 26 at home. He was born in Alberta, Canada. He is survived by brothers Henry, John, Michael and Joseph; and sisters Violet Carreira and Mary Fung. Private services.
Sing Tai Wong, 83, of Honolulu, died Friday in St. Francis Hospital. He was born in China. He is survived by wife Sau Kin Siu; sons Gunn Ting, Kwan In and Gunn Hou; daughter Yuk Lin; brothers Yau Fook, Yau Hin, Yau Hing and Yau Fat; sisters Yuk Il and Laina; 13 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren. Taoist services: 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Monday at Borthwick Mortuary. Burial: Hawaiian Memorial Park.
Violet C. Yamamoto, 85, of Honolulu, a retired cafeteria worker at Kaahumana Elementary School, died Dec. 17 in Queen's Hospital. She was born in Paia, Maui. She is survived by sons Dr. Franklin Y., David Y. and Robert J.; daughters Margaret K. Sumida and Harriet I. Suzuki; sisters Gladys Masuda and Rose Tokuhisa; and six grandchildren. Private services.
You can also search the Hawaii State Library System's
Hawaii Newspaper Index online for older obituaries at:
http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/education/hcc/library/hiindex.html
The index, which goes back several decades,
is available via Telnet software.
